Blueberry

What a summer we’ve had so far. 2 1/2 months and I can only remember like.. two days of rain. Basically it’s too hot to do anything, let alone bake, but I just couldn’t resist these beautiful apricots.

I was going to pick blueberries in the forest, but turns out they’re teeny tiny. Perhaps it’s not a good summer for blueberries, or maybe I need to wait a little longer? Anyway, galettes are my absolute favorite thing to make with fruits. Pie crust makes literally everything better, and you can basically just throw in any fruit you have at home. Doesn’t need much else to be honest.

Speaking of summer, I’ve come to realize these past two years that summer is in some ways my least favorite season. Don’t get me wrong, I love some things about summer – like the produce, being able to hang out at the beach, finally getting some vitamin D, etc. But it also completely stresses me out.

I have zero inspiration and suffer from major FOMO. I feel like I should be doing fun and amazing things every day, preferably every minute of every day too, and it takes me to a point where I just want to crawl under my blanket (no wait, it’s too hot for that) and watch Netflix. Actually I’ve read a little about it and seems like I’m not alone (it’s called reverse seasonal affective disorder). Do you feel the same way or do you love summer? If not, which is your favorite season?

APRICOT BLUEBERRY GALETTE

Yields one tart, 6-8 servings

INGREDIENTS

PIE CRUST

180 g (1 1/4 cups) all purpose flour

1 tbsp. granulated sugar

1/4 tsp. flaky salt

150 g (about 1 + 1/3 stick) very cold salted butter

3-5 tbsp. ice water

FILLING & TOPPING

500 g (about 7-8 depending on size) apricots

125 g (about 1 cup) fresh blueberries

zest and juice from 1/2 small lemon

50-75 g (4-6 tbsp.) turbinado or granulated sugar

1/4 tsp. vanilla bean powder

1/4 tsp cardamom

2 tsp. cornstarch

1 egg

pinch of salt

1 tbsp. turbinado sugar

INSTRUCTIONS

PIE CRUST

Mix together flour, sugar and salt in a large bowl. Use a cheese slicer, if you have one, to slice the butter thinly – if not, you can simply dice the butter with a knife. Add the sliced or diced butter to the dry ingredients, and using your fingers or a pastry cutter, cut in the butter until dough is crumbly but there are still some small visible pieces of butter.

Drizzle with ice water, 1 tbsp at a time, and mix gently with a fork until dough just comes together, do not knead the dough.

Form the dough into a ball and place it on a piece of plastic wrap. Flatten into a disc, wrap in the plastic wrap and place in fridge for at least one hour but preferably overnight.

ASSEMBLY & BAKING

Let the dough rest for a few minutes at room temperature. Roll out the dough into a large circle about 1/8 – 1/4 inch (3-5 mm) thick, on a lightly floured surface. Make sure to roll and turn the dough so it doesn’t stick to the surface.

Using the rolling pin, transfer the dough to a baking sheet covered with baking paper.

Halve the apricots and remove the pits, then place the apricots in a bowl with the blueberries. Toss with the lemon zest, juice, sugar (adjust to sweetness of fruit), vanilla, cardamom and cornstarch. Arrange the fruit on top of the dough, leaving a border around the edges. Fold the dough over the fruit and press gently to seal. Transfer the galette to the freezer for 15 minutes, meanwhile preheat the oven to 200°C (390°F).

Whisk together the egg with a pinch of salt in a small bowl. Brush the edges with the egg wash, then sprinkle with turbinado sugar.

I’ve struggled to come up with something to bake for the blog lately, but when I saw this pan in a second hand shop, I knew immediately what I wanted to make. Inspiration is a funny thing. It comes and goes, and usually it comes when you least expect it.

I have to act on it when it comes, which means a lot of other important things get pushed to the side. You know, as in eating well, taking care of myself, seeing friends, responding to calls and texts (who am I kidding, I never respond to calls), wearing something other than yoga pants. I started doing yoga almost every day though so at least I have an excuse for the yoga pants.

I think I’ve been in hermit mode since I quit my nine-to-five job, almost five years ago. I thank my friend Carey for encouraging me to take the mbti-test (16 personalitites) which has been sort of life changing for me. It made me understand myself, as an infp, and other people (yes, I forced everyone I know to take the test!) so much better.

But I digress. Cake! I made another version of this cake almost one year ago but was never happy with the recipe. Up until now, I haven’t had a proper lemon cake on my blog. HOW is this possible?

I adore lemon cake, especially with poppy seeds. And what a lemon cake it is, the best one I’ve made – by far! Soaked in lemon syrup and with a blueberry glaze. And how beautiful is that pan? I might make a pudding in it next time. Wouldn’t it be perfect for that?

LEMON POPPY SEED BUNDT CAKE WITH A LEMON SYRUP & BLUEBERRY GLAZE

Serves 8

You can also bake this cake in a loaf pan! If you’re baking in a vintage cake pan, make sure to check doneness before removing the cake from the oven. I had to bake it for almost 70 minutes when using a vintage pan, , whilst in a new pan it only took 47 minutes.

INGREDIENTS

BUNDT CAKE

210 g (1 1/2 cups) all purpose flour

1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. salt

225 g (1 cup) granulated sugar

2 tbsp. finely grated lemon zest (from about 2 lemons)

125 g (slightly more than 1 stick) softened salted butter

3 large eggs

100 ml (1/3 cup + 1 1/2 tbsp) heavy cream

3 tbsp. fresh lemon juice

3 tbsp. poppy seeds

LEMON SYRUP

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

55 g (1/4 cup) granulated sugar

BLUEBERRY GLAZE

3/4 tsp. freeze dried blueberry powder

1 tbsp. fresh lemon juice

75 g (1/2 cup) powdered sugar

1-2 tbsp. milk

Poppy seeds, for topping

INSTRUCTIONS

CAKE

In a medium bowl, mix together flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

Place the sugar in a large bowl. Add the finely grated lemon zest and rub together until sugar is fragrant and zest is incorporated. Add the butter and beat until mixture is light and creamy, about 2-3 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition.

In a small bowl, combine heavy cream and lemon juice. Add the flour mixture and cream mixture in additions to the butter mixture, beginning and ending with the flour, and stir until batter is smooth. Stir in the poppy seeds.

Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan, smoothing the top with a spatula. Bake on the lowest rack in the oven for 45-50 minutes (start checking doneness around 35-40 minutes, and cover the top with foil if the cake is browning too much) or until a cake tester comes out clean. While the cake is baking, you can prepare the syrup (instructions below). Let the cake cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then invert onto a cooling rack.

LEMON SYRUP

Combine lemon juice and sugar in a saucepan. Place over medium high heat and stir until the sugar is dissolved. Set aside to cool.

Brush the cake with the syrup while the cake is still warm, then let the cake cool completely. Place the cake on a cake stand or serving platter.

BLUEBERRY GLAZE

Place blueberry powder in a small bowl. Add a little splash of the lemon juice and stir until a paste forms. Stir in the rest of the lemon juice and the powdered sugar. Add milk to desired consistency.

Purple pie crust. It’s a thing of beauty. To be honest I had no idea if it would even work! But I knew I had to give it a shot as soon as the idea popped up in my head. And since we have some beautiful winter apples, I figured that would be the best way to go. Because you can never really go wrong with apple pie, am I right?

Some tips if you’re thinking about making this pie, or pies in general. Make sure not to brush the pie with any egg wash if you want to keep the purple color. It won’t be as impressively purple after baking, but as you can see it will keep some of the color! I wasn’t really thinking too much during my first try, so I brushed the pie with egg white.

Needless to say, the pie browned a lot and you could see very little of the purple. The second time, I left it as is (as you can see in the photos) but used a little less (maybe 1 1/2 tbsp.) blueberry powder so the pie came out a lot lighter. Next time, I’ll use more blueberry powder and I might brush it with a syrup right after baking, like I did HERE. I bet that would be delicious and it would also give a nice sheen to the pie!

Blueberry powder is easily accessible in Sweden, where you can find it in super markets and in health stores. I used the brand Kung Markatta, and it gave this beautiful color. Different brands can give slightly different colors of purple/red. The blueberry powder doesn’t really give any blueberry flavor, and it also doesn’t affect the consistency of the crust.

You can totally make this pie without the blueberry powder too! It’ll still be SO incredibly delicious. I say apples and oranges were meant for each other. You can totally use lemon zest and juice too, if that’s more up your alley. Make sure to use apples that are not overly ripe. That’ll make the filling mushy. Oh, and the pie dough can be made up to a day ahead.

If you’re making a very tight lattice like I have here, make sure there are still some small holes for the filling to seep through, or your lattice might puff up during baking and break. And always let the pie cool completely after baking to make sure the filling firms up. If you want to serve the pie warm, re-heat each individual slice instead.

I think that’s about it.. although I can go on and on about pies!

APPLE PIE WITH A PURPLE BLUEBERRY CRUST

Makes one pie

Make sure to read the post above for tips and tricks on this recipe!

INGREDIENTS

BLUEBERRY CRUST

2 tbsp. freeze dried blueberry powder

3 tbsp. cold water

300 g (2 cups + 1 tbsp) all purpose flour

2 tbsp. granulated sugar

1/2 tsp. flaky salt

250 g (2 sticks plus 2 tbsp.) very cold salted butter

1-3 tbsp. ice water (as needed)

APPLE FILLING

1 kg apples (about 6, depeding on size)

100 g (scant 1/2 cup) granulated sugar

pinch of salt

zest and juice from one small blood orange (about 3 tbsp. juice)

3/4 tsp. freshly ground cardamom

1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon

25 g salted butter

2 tbsp. water

2 tbsp. cornstarch

INSTRUCTIONS

PIE CRUST

Stir together blueberry powder and water in a small bowl. Set aside. Mix together flour, sugar and salt in a large bowl. If you have one, use a cheese slicer to slice the butter thinly – if not, you can dice the butter with a knife. Add the sliced or diced butter to the dry ingredients, and using your fingers or a pastry cutter, cut or rub the butter into the flour mixture until dough is crumbly but there are still some small visible pieces of butter.

If you want the dough to have a completely smooth purple color – place the mixture in a food processor, add the blueberry powder and water mixture and pulse until just smooth. You might need too add an extra tablespoon or so of ice water if the dough is too dry. Make sure not to overmix the dough!

Divide the dough into two pieces, one slightly bigger than the other (the bigger one will be for the lattice top). Place each piece of dough between two pieces of plastic wrap. Flatten into discs using a rolling pin. Place in the fridge for at least one hour.

APPLE FILLING

Peel and core the apples and slice them in about 6 mm (1/4 inch) thick slices. Place the slices in a bowl and add sugar, salt, zest, juice, cardamom and cinnamon. Gently fold so that everything is distributed evenly. Let stand for about 5-10 minutes or until the apples start releasing liquids. Gently stir every now and then.

Melt the butter in a large saucepan, and with the pan over medium heat, add the apple mixture and cook, stirring often, for about 2 minutes or until the apples release more liquid. Stir together the water and cornstarch in a small bowl, and add to the saucepan. Stir constantly until liquids thickens, about 1 minute. Spread filling onto a large plate or a wide bowl and let cool completely.

ASSEMBLE AND BAKE

Preheat oven to 200°C (390°F).

If the dough is very cold and hard, leave it in room temperature for a little while before rolling it out. Roll out the smaller piece of dough to a large circle on a lightly floured surface, about 1/8 – 1/4 inch (3-5 mm) thick. Make sure to roll and turn the dough so it doesn’t stick – or roll the dough out directly onto a piece of baking paper.

Using the rolling pin, transfer the dough to a 8-9 inch pie pan. Trim the edges of the crust, but make sure to leave a little overhang if you want to crimp the edges. Set aside.

Roll out the second piece of dough, and cut out 10 strips (or the desired amount) of dough using a knife or pizza cutter.

Spoon the cooled filling into the pie pan. Place the strips in a lattice pattern on top of the filling (see a video on how to make a lattice top in THIS POST). Trim excess dough around the edges using a knife or kitchen scissors.

Place the pie in the freezer for 15 minutes.

Remove the pie from the freezer. Place a baking sheet or a piece of baking paper (to catch drips from the pie) on the lowest rack of the oven. Bake the pie for 10 minutes at 200°C (390°F), then lower to 175°C (350°F) and bake for an additional 35 minutes. If the edges are browning too much, cover them loosely with aluminum foil. Turn the oven off and leave the pie in the warm oven for an additional 10 minutes. Remove the pie from the oven and let cool completely before serving with sweetened whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

If you follow me on Instagram, you’ve probably seen these pancakes a few times, but they are so worth mentioning again. I keep coming back to this recipe over and over again, and I usually eat them at least once a week. Best pancakes, hands down. Really. They’ve earned their place on this blog.

INSTRUCTIONSPancakes1. Mix all ingredients for the pancakes with an immersion blender until smooth.2. Fry heaping tablespoons of batter on medium low heat in some butter or oil. Serve with maple syrup, or your preferred pancake toppings!

I’m a little bit too excited about this post.
I received the most beautiful bed linen from Evencki the other day. This lovely plum color makes my knees weak and it was just begging to be photographed with a pretty cake. My inspiration has been low lately and this was exactly what I needed. This, and the beautiful spring weather we’re having (our thermometer says 12°C today!).

My friend Lua experimented with a raw and vegan cheesecake the other day and she told me all about it when we met over the weekend. So I had to give it a try, too. And I must say I’m very impressed with the outcome. Incredibly creamy, sweet, tangy, rich and just perfect.

I know, this blog is usually all about the sugar and the flour, and it has been for the past.. 5 1/2 years now.
Maybe you’re thinking I’ve stopped eating sugar, flour, eggs and dairy. I haven’t, though I really enjoy trying something different every now and then. It’s a great way to find some new inspiration, because sometimes you just get stuck in your ways. It’s like when I’m trying to think of something to eat for dinner. We have like 5 dishes that we eat over and over again and I can’t imagine that there are other dishes in the world except for these 5. I’m like.. “uhmmm, maybe pasta, rice… or potatoes”. Does anyone else feel the same way?

Oh, and this cake totally looks huge in the photos but in reality, it isn’t. It’s only 12 cm, so it’s tiny and cute.

NO BAKE BLUEBERRY LEMON VEGAN CHEESECAKEThis cheesecake is completely gluten-free, dairy-free and egg-free Makes 1 tiny cheesecake (12 cm/5 inches) but you can of course double the recipe ro make a bigger one!

INSTRUCTIONS
1. Soak the dates in warm water for 15 minutes then drain. Put almonds in a food processor and pulse until finely chopped. Add the dates and salt and pulse until a paste forms.
2. Press mixture into a 5-inch springform pan (if you don’t have a springform pan, use a pie tin or a regular cake pan covered with parchment paper). Put the pan in the freezer while you prepare the filling.
3. Put all ingredients for the filling in a blender and mix until mixture is as smooth as possible. Pour the filling into the crust, cover with plastic wrap and freeze for at least 4 hours.
4. Remove the cake from the pan and leave to thaw in room temperature for about 10-15 minutes before cutting. Top with freeze dried blueberry powder, fresh blueberries, shredded coconut and edible flowers. I usually run my knife under warm water (and dry off) before cutting, to make a cleaner cut. Let each piece thaw for a few more minutes before serving.

*If you’re in a hurry you can let the cashews soak in very hot water for 1 hour instead of overnight

Okay, can we just talk about these muffins for a while? They are so delicious. You need to make them, now. I almost can’t believe how fluffy and perfect they are. I’m pretty sure I need to make this recipe as a cake too. Soon.

I’m leaving for Iceland next week (sounds like I’m moving there but I’m not) and I know myself all too well. I need to write lists everyday because I have a fear of forgetting something. Soon, I’ll start dreaming nightmares about missing my flight or forgetting my bag at the airport.
I wish I could be a little more relaxed. Laid back. Especially when it comes to traveling. Besides from the fact that I have travel anxiety, I know it will be an amazing trip and I’m looking forward to it so much. I’ve packed my camera gear and I’ll bring my computer as well so hopefully I’ll be able to update with some photos while I’m there!

DirectionsCrumble topping
In a small bowl, stir together flour, sugar, cardamom and salt. Add butter and mix with your hands until mixture is crumbly. Put bowl in the fridge while you prepare the muffins.

Muffins
Preheat oven to 200°C (390F) and line a muffin pan with 10-12 baking cups. Melt the butter and add yogurt and lemon zest. Beat eggs and sugar until light and fluffy, then add the butter mixture. Mix flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl and stir them into the wet ingredients. Fold in blueberries. Fill liners 3/4 full and sprinkle cardamom crumble on top. Bake for 18-21 minutes.

There is nothing more satisfying than when you succeed with pie. Pie makes me happy. This pie is the quintessence of summer with lots and lots of raspberries, strawberries and blueberries. Perfect to serve with a scoop, or two, of vanilla ice cream.

I don’t know if it’s just me, but I kind of feel like a criminal when I’m shooting outside. I almost try and hide as much as possible because I feel like people are staring at me. When I shot these images a father and his two sons were walking by. I overheard his kids asking him “WHAT is she doing??”. They’re were on their way towards me to see what I was up to when he stopped them.
I smiled. Children’s honesty and curiosity is really refreshing. Instead of just wondering what I was up too, they were on their way to see what I was doing, without prejudice.

I’m a little sad I didn’t bring company and a blanket for my photo shoot as this beautiful spot would have been so perfect for a picnic. A pie picnic.

Pie crust
Preheat oven to 200°C (400°F).
Mix flour, sugar and salt in a bowl. Add the butter and mix until you get fine crumbs. Add the water (begin with 5 tbsp and add an additional 1-2 tbsp if the dough feels dry in the end), juice and egg and mix until the dough just comes together. Wrap dough in plastic wrap and put in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.

Roll out about 2/3 of the dough on a lightly floured surface and line the bottom of a 24 cm/9 inch pie pan with it. Do not trim the edges yet. Put the lined pan in the fridge. Roll out the rest of the dough and cut out long stripes for a lattice pattern.

Egg wash
Lightly beat egg with water and salt in a small bowl.

Filling
Mix flour, cornstarch, salt, sugar, vanilla and cardamom in a bowl. Put berries in a large bowl, and add the flour mixture. Carefully turn berries berries with a large spoon so they are covered with the flour mixture.
Pour berry mixture into the prepared lined pan and top with pie stripes. “Glue” pie stripes onto the pie crust using some egg wash. Trim edges and use a fork to make a pretty edge, or just pinch edges together. Brush top and edges of the pie with egg wash. Sprinkle some granulated sugar on top.
Bake for 10 minutes at 200°C, then lower temperature to 175°C (350°F) and bake for an additional 50-60 minutes (start checking after 30-40 minutes so the edges don’t brown too much) until filling is bubbly and fragrant. Turn off oven and leave in the oven for an additional 30 minutes to set. Leave to cool completely in room temperature before serving with lightly whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

In English:
This week I baked lots of cake for a graduation party (congrats Emelie!)! Me being me, I decided to make two cakes. One two-tier chocolate espresso fondant cake and one no-bake berry cheesecake. You know, just because I can. As always I had no plan for the fondant cake so it was completely improvised. I stayed up til 2 am that night. But I finished it!

The fondant cake is probably not the easiest cake you can make, but the no-bake cheesecake is! Cakes don’t get any easier than this, plus it is so delicious. And pretty! All good things wrapped up in one little cake.Click to view larger images! Pictures of fondant cake at the bottom of this post.